Another day, another musician has died: perhaps I should change the name of this column to Obit of the Week? Actually, it's been over a week. Does that make... Read More

I find myself keeping up with news much more selectively recently. Nightly, like many of us, I regularly had an ear to National Radio at 5pm or, failing that,... Read More

Farewell February: we hardly knew you, but you were soggy and not much fun. Sadly, the impact of February will be with us for years to come but, since there's absolutely... Read More

Last week I mentioned the current glut of folk music; none of that today - this week it's jazz. And let's start by following up on a column from a couple of weeks... Read More

I write this hunkering down awaiting a cyclone's arrival; by the time you read it that will be old news. So I hope y'all got through okay. It has been, without... Read More

After last week's glut of live music I thought this time we'd look at recent recordings from local musicians. But there's a gig I also wanted to mention, so I'll... Read More

February is a short but busy month - so much music, so little time. Foolishly I used last week to mourn recent fallen musicians; unhappy emails have been arriving... Read More

So, 2023 has been a rotten year for musicians; and we're only just reaching February... It's been the first conversation at recent musical gatherings. For me,... Read More

This week we have blues gigs. And a welcome lashing of trivia. And if you thought we'd start with something useful, like the gigs, then you've clearly... Read More

And we're back again for 2023, firing on several cylinders, ready to roll. I hope y'all had a good break, if you were lucky enough to have a break.... Read More

I've got a couple of books for you this week. It was either that or another column hunting round for suitable New Year's Eve entertainment. And since a bunch of... Read More

It's getting harder for musicians to produce recorded music. A liner note in a CD I received recently says: 'With a single Spotify stream now returning $0.0007... Read More